360, VR and AR Go Big

SundayJan 8 2017

360, VR and AR Go Big

Immersive technology is no longer just for the gamers. It’s for the people of all different interests who want an engaging online experience. And these visually stimulated demands of consumers are being met with products like VR, AR and 360 — tools that give audiences the intimate opportunity they crave to be apart of this emerging online adventure. But as more people adopt this technology into their lives, it’s clear that brands need to uncover new and inventive ways to cater to their consumers’ immersive needs.

That’s why we want to understand how people are engaging through these immersive outlets and how brands should respond. New research reveals that consumers are expecting an evolution of online content in 2017. Here’s what you need to know.

360 Video
Last year 360 video took off, giving consumers the immersive experience they crave without the need for headsets — and this technology shows no signs of slowing down. Today, 28% of Canadian consumers engage with 360-degree video at least once a month. Research shows that 14% of consumers expect to watch more 360-degree or immersive videos in 2017 compared to 2016.

Advertisers are just as interested. 32% of Canadian advertisers plan to invest in 360 video within the next 12 months. In 2017, we’ll see 360-video solidify it’s place in digital advertising. In fact, 72% of advertisers expect 360 video to drive the most revenue in the next 12 months out of all new formats.

Virtual Reality
With this technology becoming much more accessible, VR will become mainstream in 2017. Consumers are driving increased demand for this fully immersive video format.

Advertisers are following suit, in Canada, with 62% of advertisers and publishers believing that there is a place for virtual reality in the digital video marketplace. And 28% of advertisers are planning to get into the VR space in the next 12 months.

Expect the quantity of content offered in VR to grow in 2017. Consumers are most interested in using VR for entertainment (movies and tv), virtual tourism, science and nature footage and virtual shopping.

Augmented Reality
Inspired by Pokemon Go, we will see the true rise of AR in 2017. Consumer demand will continue to push brands to innovate. 11% of consumers expect to engage with AR more in 2017 than they did in 2016. And 12% of consumers already engage with AR more than once a week.

AR is especially attractive to brands because consumers can access this video content through devices they already own. We found that the same amount of consumers engage with AR on mobile devices as they do through a VR hardware device or video game console.

Expect to see more brands provide AR experiences in 2017. In fact, 31% of advertisers believe that AR and VR will be among the top revenue drivers of all new video formats in 2017.